John A. Hassell

, PhD

Professor
Pathology and Molecular Medicine

Division: Molecular Medicine

Professor, Biochemistry & Biology
Director, Centre for Functional Genomics

McMaster University
5028 Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning & Discovery
905-525-9140 ext 27217
hassell@mcmaster.ca

Assistant: Jenn Seager

Currently accepting Graduate Students
Currently accepting Post Doctoratal Fellows

Education and Professional Standing

• PhD, Molecular Biology, University of Connecticut, 1975
• BSc, Chemistry, University of New York, 1970

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Interests

Research Focus

The mammalian Ets gene family comprises over 30 members that have been grouped into subfamilies based on the relatedness of their sequences. All Ets proteins bear highly related Ets DNA binding domains and either activate or repress transcription. The PEA3 subfamily of Ets genes comprises PEA3, ER81 and ERM. These three genes are co-expressed in many developing tissues and organs during mouse embryogenesis; their overexpression is associated with the genesis and progression of breast and colon cancer. Our research program is centered on elucidating the structure-function and regulation of the expression and activity of the PEA3 subfamily of Ets proteins, and uncovering their role in mammary gland development and oncogenesis. To accomplish our goals we are using state-of-the-art technologies including gene expression profiling with DNA microarrays and various strains of knockout and transgenic mice.

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Team Members

Lab Technicians

Craig Aarts, Bonnie Bojovic, Adele Girgis-Gabardo, Dora Ilieva

Graduate Students

Robin Hallett

Selected Publications

• Kondratyev M, Kreso A, Hallett RM, Girgis-Gabardo A, Barcelon ME, Ilieva D, Ware C, Majumder PK, and Hassell JA. (2011). Gamma-secretase inhibitors target tumor-initiating cells in a mouse model of ERBB2 breast cancer. Oncogene. 2011 Jun 13. doi: 10.1038/onc.2011.212. [Epub ahead of print]
• Hallett RM, and Hassell JA. (2011). E2F1/KIAA0191 expression predicts breast cancer patient survival. BMC Research Notes. 4:95, doi:10.1186/1756-0500-4-95.
• Hebbard L, Maurer J, Miller A, Lesperance J, Hassell JA, Oshima RG, and Terskikh A. (2010). MELK is upregulated and required in mammary tumor-initiating cells in vivo. Cancer Research, 70 (21):8863-73.
• Tiodorovic N, Giacomelli A, Hassell JA, Frampton CS, and Capretta A. (2010). Microwave-assisted synthesis of 3-aryl-pyrimido[5,4-e][1,2,4]triazine-5,7-(1H6H)-dione libraries: derivatives of toxoflavin. Tetrahedron Letters 51 6037-6040.
• Grohs BM, Niu Y, Veldhuis LJ, Trabelsi S, Garabagi F, Hassell JA, McLean MD and Hall JC. Plant-produced Trastuzumab inhibits the growth of HER2 positive cancer cells. (2010) J. Agric. Food Chem. 58, 10056-10063. DOI:10.1021/jf02284f.
• Hallett RM, Dvorkin A, Girgis-Gabardo A, and Hassell JA. (2010). An algorithm to discover gene signatures with predictive potential. J Exp Clin Cancer Res, 29(1):12.
• Baker R, Kent C, Silbermann R, Hassell JA, Young L and Howe L. (2010). Pea3 transcription factors and wnt1-induced mouse mammary neoplasia. PLoS One. Jan 22: 5(1):e8854.
• Kurpios NA, MacNeil L, Shepherd TG, Gludish DG, Giacomelli AO and Hassell JA (2009). The Pea3 Ets transcription factor regulates differentiation of multipotent progenitor cells during mammary gland development. Developmental Biology 325: 106-121.
• Zhang Z, Verheyden JM, Hassell JA, and Sun X (2009). FGF-regulated Etv genes are essential for repressing Shh expression in mouse limb buds. Developmental Cell 16: 607-613.
• Giacomelli AO, Hallett RM, and Hassell JA (2009). Transcription control in breast cancer: Role of ETS transcription factors. In Breast Cancer: From Pathogenesis to Potential Therapeutic Modalities, A. Ben-Baruch (ed.), Transworld Research Network, Kerala, India. Pp 57-76.
• Lu B, Cebrian C, Chi X, Kuure S, Kuo R, Bates CM, Arber S, Hassell JA, MacNeil L, Hoshi M, Jain S, Asai N, Takahashi M, Schmidt-Ott K, Barasch J, Agati V, and Constantini F (2009). The ETS transcription factors Pea3 and Erm are required for downstream GDNF and Ret for branching morphogenesis during kidney development. Nature Genetics 41: 1295 - 1302.
• Bojovic BB and Hassell JA (2008). The transactivation function of the Pea3 Ets transcription factors is regulated by sumoylation. DNA and Cell Biology 27:289-305.
• Youn BS, Sen A, Behie LA, Girgis-Gabardo A, and Hassell JA (2006). Scale-up of breast cancer stem cell cultures to suspension bioreactors. Biotechnology Progress 22: 801 – 810.
• Chen C, Ouyang W, Grigura V, Zhou Q, Carnes K, Lim H, Zhao G-Q, Arber S, Kurpios N, Murphy TL, ChengAM, Hassell JA, Chandrashekar V, Hofmann M-C, Hess RA, and Murphy KM (2005). ERM is required for transcriptional control of the spermatogonial stem cell niche. Nature 436:1030-1034.
• Youn BS, Sen A, Kallos MS, Girgis-Gabardo A, Barcelon M, Kurpios N, Hassell JA, and Behie LA (2005). Large-scale expansion of murine mammary epithelial stem cells in suspension bioreactors. Biotechnology Progress 21: 984-993.
• Hesselbrock DR, Kurpios N, Hassell JA, Watson MA, and Fleming T (2005) PEA3, AP-1 and a unique repetitive sequence all are involved in transcriptional regulation of the breast cancer-associated gene, mammoglobin. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 89: 289-296.